public participation

Last week, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) published the highlights of its 2012 Survey of Public Participation, a study which aimed to capture the myriad of ways Americans engaged with the arts over that year. The sixth iteration of a partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau—the first being in 1982, the last in 2008—the most recent survey boasts a sample size of 37,266 and so represents a phenomenal resource through which to see how people are connecting with the arts, as well as being helpful in developing policy initiatives. The NEA plans to make a comprehensive report available in 2014, but in the meantime there are some points of interest worth noting in the current highlights.